


Keep me a secret, tell the world (I'm yours)

by Queerfeministdork



Category: 9-1-1 (TV), 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Secret Relationship, healthy use of jealousy, no beta we die like the gays, one right after the other, well sort of?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:01:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29708550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queerfeministdork/pseuds/Queerfeministdork
Summary: Eddie and Buck planned on going to Texas, getting a job done, and going home. They could keep their engagement under wraps in a place like that for a job.But then Hen goes down, and all of a sudden they're saddled with a group of friends that they need to explain why they were lying about being single to.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 25
Kudos: 674





	Keep me a secret, tell the world (I'm yours)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello loves! I wrote this on like very little sleep, and did not beta it. It was just a little plot idea that was running around in my head, but I hope you like it!

Everyone liked to tease Eddie for how jealous he got, and he understood why he really did. Because the sky was blue, the ocean was salty, and so was Eddie Diaz when his boyfriend was getting hit on by someone else. But it worked for them, because as much as he hated the way the ticks of that little green eyed monster would flare up, it turned Buck on. 

So eventually they found something that worked for them. Because Buck was nothing if not a flirt, and Eddie got it. He knew that he craved that approval, and he was confident, and it just slipped into some harmless flirting with just about everyone he ever met. So they both got free passes to flirt, and Eddie was allowed to step in at any point and claim to the world as loudly as he wanted that - nope sorry this ones taken. Buck was always a bit more subtle, sure he got jealous, but not as fast. Just like he was into the jealousy, he was also into teasing the hell out of his boyfriend. Going along with strangers flirting, pretending they weren't dating, occasionally he would just hit on Eddie as if they weren’t dating for the hell of it. But sometimes when Eddie was flirting with a stranger Buck would waltz up and pull him into a kiss that felt more like a claim. (Maybe those times were Eddie's favorites. He was a sucker for being kissed by his fiancé and who could blame him?) 

All in all it made their relationship healthier in the end. And they both knew it, so even when their friends teased them for it, or looked at them like they were crazy they continued with their games. 

But their friends looking at them like crazy people was one thing. A lot of strangers in a state that was slightly less than forgiving in it’s views on same sex couples was not. Which had brought them to the discussion of Texas. They had rules, ones that they kept to all the time. Nothing unprofessional at work was always at the top of the list. Flirting came with their job half the time, but their reactions had to be casual. Eddie dropping in mentions of seeing Christopher at home, planning the wedding, doing things as a family. Things to get people to back off and take the hint. 

But this was Texas and they were both a little on edge. Sure neither of them were really anticipating a whole lot of romance during a wildfire, but with Bucks tendencies to flirt with anything with legs, he wasn't going to write it off. Buck knew that the idea of being loud and proud in his home state gave him nothing but anxiety, and while he was the one who normally put Eddie’s fears to rest, he was inclined to agree for once. So they decided to keep it quiet. 

"So you ready to move back down to the friend zone Diaz?" Buck teased, as they finally crossed state lines into Texas. 

Eddie rolled his eyes, leaning over, giving him a hard kiss to shut him up. "Fake friend zone. And pretty soon you're going to be a Diaz too, so watch it with the tone." 

Buck rolled his eyes, but he was smiling softly like he always did at the reminder of their wedding. At the thought of taking his last name. Eddie asked if he was sure about a thousand times. He finally stopped when Buck sat him down and explained that he wanted nothing more than to match him and Chris. To be one family, and that if they decided to have more kids he never wanted them to have to choose. 

Then of course he smirked and added they would have matching uniforms so strangers on calls probably wouldn't hit on him unless they were really bold. Eddie hit him over the head with a pillow for that. 

"Oh god what are you two on about?" Hen asked, she was eyeing them warily, like she really didn't want to know. To be fair she probably didn't, and Buck grinned. 

"Eddie and I are going incognito on the relationship while we're down in Texas." Hen nodded, a small frown pulling at the corner of her lips. 

"And you're happy about this why?" She paused for a half a second seeing Buck and Eddie both open their mouth to talk before she shook her head. "Never mind I don't want to know. I got it though. Mums the word." 

"Thanks Hen." Eddie said sincerely, and she smiled sadly. 

Without the excitement Buck was trying to bring into the situation about their games, Eddie knew Hen knew how it felt. Feeling like you had to close down that part of yourself and hide it. Something Eddie and Buck could do much easier than her. 

"Always." 

+++ 

Eddie knew the staring didn't mean anything. The woman wasn’t even Buck’s _type,_ despite how gorgeous she was. But that didn’t stop him from jumping on the chance to pair up with "Firefox" to tease Buck a bit. Plus it had the added bonus of not having to work the fireline. There was a minor flash of hurt in his eyes, followed by resolve and good lord Eddie was almost afraid of the stories he was going to hear when they got back in touch. It seemed like the games were on. 

He sent the instagram follow request, because hell if Buck could recognize her from just that there had to be something worth seeing. And the face she made was worth it. Scrolling through her account he couldn’t really blame Buck for being intrigued, she did a great job of hyping up all of her bigger rescues. 

It was something Chim was always on Buck’s case to do before the bombing. Always talking about his ex Tatiana and how Buck could easily get back out there if he did something like that. After the bombing every account Buck had went private, and any rescue he had got pulled down. His entire account got turned into a dedication to family, which was mostly himself and Chris at this point. 

It was a blessing she was looking at his sparren account, otherwise the hidden relationship would have been a bust. 

She shot him a look when she scrolled past a picture of Chris, and he shrugged, the lie on the tip of his tongue. "Doing the whole single dad thing." He said, like the weight of his engagement ring wasn't his favorite feeling in the world. 

Of course when she made a comment about Buck it was immediate to come to his defense. Because no matter what, even with the "temporary friendzone," they could still be friends. And he would defend him to anyone. 

And then it all went to shit. 

+++ 

Buck was definitely flirting with that guy. Plus the look he shot him when their eyes caught for a half a second. Like a pleased puppy, as if he couldn’t see it from a mile away, and as much as it would have at least gotten a passing smile. A hint of jealousy on a normal day, it wasn't a normal day. And he hated that they agreed to hide their relationship, because all he wanted was to hold Buck through this. Take him into his arms and make the hurt go away, for both of them. 

The teasing barely registered, whatever stupid shit the kid was saying as an added comment went in one ear and out the other. Because Buck was finally looking at him. He could tell Buck caught on faster than Marjan was speaking. He could read it in the silent conversation they were having. The way he tensed, he wanted to take his hand, do something, anything. But he knew the second he had his hands on Buck, or Buck had his hands on him, it would be over. The cat would be out of the bag. So he tensed his body, and they moved around each other. 

They had agreed, they weren't outing themselves down here. And even if it seemed Buck had made a gay connection, they still couldn't predict the whole climate. He understood. Even if he hated it, even if they both hated it. 

So when the kid, TK stalked off and Buck looked at him. Pain painting his features Eddie just nodded. It was clear the kid needed a friend, and even if Buck was hitting on him before it was probably half friendship. That was just the kind of guy he was. So he grabbed some pizza and ran off. 

Judd walked back into the tent with some waters about 10 minutes later frowning at Eddie. “Where did your friend go?” He asked. 

Where did Buck go? His fiancé, who was famous for making half cocked plans when it came to the people he loved, was not sitting right outside where he was supposed to be?

"Outside to talk to your friend, were they not out there?" He asked, and he could feel his pulse skyrocketing. 

"Nope." He said popping the p. He cracked open a water like this wasn’t a big deal. And hell maybe to them it wasn’t. Though he was pretty sure that their captain was that kids dad. Suddenly it made sense to Eddie why Buck chose to go after him. Whatever stupid plan he was concotiong he would be easy to get him to agree to. He was the one with the most emotional stake in it all. 

"Maybe they went to hook up." The kid, Eddie was pretty sure he said his name was Mateo, offered up and everyone shot him a look. "What? There was some heavy flirting!" He defended, and Marjan scoffed. 

"We spend all our days off at Carlos' house. You think TK is just going to run off and cheat on him? While worrying about his dad?" Eddie calmed slightly at the fact that TK had a boyfriend. 

"I'm just saying fire trucks have a lot of room." The kid defended again, and Eddie froze. 

"Oh that fucker wouldn't. Not again." He scoffed, because it was actually a good plan. Eddie might have thought of it himself. But he was more hurt that Buck didn’t come to him with it. Of course he wasn't hooking up with TK in the back of a fire truck, but if anyone knew how to steal one it was him. He knew that Buck would have a million excuses about why he didn’t want to get Eddie involved, probably starting with one of them needing to make it home to Chris. And that made him even angrier, as he shoved his turnout gear on. He was going to have to do a _lot_ to make it up-

His thoughts were cut off by Judd clearing his throat. "You care to share with the rest of the class?" 

"Oh uhh- so yeah Buck is definitely stealing a fire truck right now." He said, waving his hand in front of him awkwardly. He didn't know how to explain that he just knew, but Judd seemed to accept this. 

"Again?" Was all he asked. But he was grabbing his gear and moving, as were the rest of them. So he figured he could explain on the move. 

"Yeah he stole the fire truck twice before to hook up with some girls when he was uhh. He was going through some stuff before we met." He really didn't need them getting the wrong impression of Buck, but he also didn't need to spill out his lovers secrets to a lot of strangers. 

"So they're-" Mateo started again, and Marjan sighed. 

"No probie, they're going to rescue Cap." She paused, side eyeing Eddie. "Right?" 

"Right." 

+++ 

They had Hen between them, but for the first time since they got down to Texas, Eddie finally felt back in sync with Buck. They both had an arm wrapped around her, which meant that finally, fucking finally, they were touching. It made something in him feel at ease, like finally since they got out of their truck in Texas they were back on the same wavelength. No one could question the touch, even if maybe they had their arms pressed a little too hard into each other. But they were comforting Hen. And if they were comforting themselves along the way, well that was their business. He knew Hen sure as hell wouldn't care. 

Buck kept shooting him looks, apologies written into his eyes, finally Eddie rolled his eyes. It was a wonder Buck thought he would get away with doing something so stupid without him. For starters, the thought that he wouldn’t know what he was up to was dumb. But he knew the promise they made to each other after their first call in the ambulance was written in both of their vows. They had each other's backs. 

So instead of giving into the sad eyes, he pressed two fingers into Buck's forehead, just to see the way his eyes would go crossed, like they did every time. "Stop saying you're sorry." He mumbled. 

"He didn't even-" Mateo started, and Judd shot him a look and he went quiet. 

Eddie shot him an appreciative look, even if he was slightly confused. 

Buck waited until the eyes were off of them again, before mouthing "I love you." Eddie beamed. He mouthed it back, pressing his arm more firmly into Bucks. 

+++ 

They were all laying around the med tent, filling in Hen and Owen on everything that happened, the daring rescue. 

"I'd expect nothing less from my crew and that man right there. I was sad when he didn't accept my offer to come down here." He said, and Eddie looked at Buck wide eyed. He knew it was over, the time had come and gone. But the fear still crawled up. Because he didn’t even know about it, and Buck told him everything. 

"Wait, you got a job offer in Texas and you never-"

"It was before, and it didn't matter. I was never taking it." He said firmly, before softening and looking at Owen. "No offense intended Sir. The 118 is my family, although the team you've built down here is lovely I'm sure I would have had a great time." 

"Ahh man we could have had Captain American and Iron Man on the same team." Mateo whined, and Eddie raised an eyebrow, Buck shot him a look to say later and he nodded. 

"And what am I?" Marjan asked, in an offended voice. 

"Captain Marvel." He said too quickly. Like this was something he actually thought about. If it was he hoped that Buck was Captain America. 

"Damn straight probie."

“You didn’t tell me he was one of our prospects.” TK, _that was the kids name Eddie had learned,_ whined to his dad. He looked Buck over once more with a smile. Like Eddie wasn’t sitting right there. “Sucks man, you really are great under pressure. Would have been nice to have someone like you on our team down here.” He said, shooting Buck a smile, and Eddie felt his hackles rise. 

"Down boy." Hen murmured quiet enough that only he could hear her. 

“Please, dumbass and dumbasser on one team? I would go grey way too soon.” Judd whined, but he clapped Buck on the back. 

"LA would miss me too much. They need me for their personal brand of crazy. I’m normally much more responsible up there, don't worry Judd.” He said, and Judd laughed brightly. 

“Yeah man not sure I believe that. Hollywood here told us you stole a firetruck. Twice.” Buck turned to Eddie, with a sharp look. 

“Really Edmundo?” He hissed, and Eddie blushed, raising his hands in defense. 

“You know you mentioned that before I decided to just run off with you. But I don’t think I ever got the story.” TK said, and Buck shot Eddie a look, before grinning at TK. 

“Oh it’s short, and stupid. Not worth repeating out loud. If you wanna give me your number I can text it to you though.” TK blinked twice, and Marjan leaned forward like she was ready to fight off Buck in TK’s honor if need be. 

Eddie knew, he _knew,_ that this kid had a boyfriend. And yet the fact that Buck was asking for his number still had his fists clenching. He knew it too, because he shot Eddie a look, like he was happy that he was mad. 

TK took a deep breath, looking around the room awkwardly. "Sure man, but I should let you know I have a boyfriend. And it's pretty serious." He took out his phone opening it up to a new contact option before passing it to Buck. Marjan relaxed and leaned back in her seat, which seemed like overkill to Eddie. Then again she didn’t like Buck and didn’t know he was engaged so what did he know? 

Buck didn't even falter, eyes shooting to Eddie, before shooting back to TK. "Hmm. Interesting. Still hit me up, always good to make new friends." He said with a megawatt smile. TK grinned and nodded. 

Eddie’s own phone pinged, and he looked away from the interaction to his notification with a grin. "Oh man I know that smile." Buck announced, walking over plastering himself to Eddie’s back to lean over his shoulder. Too close for friends, but they were mostly shielded by where Hen was laying, and Eddie sure as hell wasn’t going to say anything. 

They peered at the photo of the giant canvas along the floor, and the subsequent paint on the floor with it. It seemed that Maddie and Chim’s babysitting efforts had gone...not awful. He was going to be scrubbing the floor for weeks. But the grin on Chris’ face was worth it, and the smile he could feel coming off of Buck, he would walk through fire for that. So a little extra mopping was nothing. 

"Chris?" Hen asked, and Eddie hummed in the affirmative. 

"He painted the floor for us when we get back.” Buck said, and Eddie elbowed him. 

“What he’s trying to say, is we let Maddie and Chim babysit, and they apparently didn’t know to put a tarp under the canvas.” Eddie corrected, and Buck shrugged. 

“Um excuse me, Maddie raised me. And I was a hot mess, she knows to put the tarp down. You threw it away after the glitter incident.” He scolded, and Eddie frowned. 

“We didn’t buy a new one?” 

“Nope, Pepa said she said one to give us. And _someone has_ been slacking on picking it up.” Eddie frowned, and made a mental note to pick up the tarp as soon as they were back in LA to avoid future incidents. “Besides, I think the yellow suits the kitchen. Maybe we should-” 

“No.” He said, and he heard Buck let out a small whine. 

“Why not?” He could feel him pouting from behind him and he turned up, to kiss it off him when he remembered. 

They were in Texas. Not talking about the fact that they were in a relationship. So he turned back to the group, who were all staring at them oddly. Mateo looked lost, Marjan and TK looked annoyed and confused, Owen looked like he could care less. But Judd. Well. 

"I knew it." He yelled, smacking a table, letting out a small whoop. 

"Knew what?" Buck asked slowly. Pulling back, and standing straight. As if they could salvage it, like there was a chance they could pretend they weren’t together now. Eddie felt cold at the loss. 

"You two, you're together ain’t you? I thought so at first, but then I wasn’t all that sure cause of the way that you were acting.” He shrugged, but then smiled at them again. “How much longer are you in town? Me and Gracie love getting together with other first responder couples. Especially ones that have been together for as long as you two."

Eddie was almost overwhelmed with honor. He and Buck really hadn’t been together all that long, but they had been a family longer than they had been together, but Judd’s assessment of them felt like a testament to their relationship. But he had also heard how highly the man talked of his wife and it was sweet that he wanted them to meet. He was going to turn to ask Buck about it, but Buck still had that air of hesitance about him. 

He didn’t get to say anything before Hen did. "Boy just drop it. It's just us here. You're safe." Hen said, and Eddie looked at Buck who finally relaxed. Putting his hands on Eddie’s shoulders, thumbs pressing into them gently. 

"Yeah, we're engaged." He confirmed, and Judd beamed. 

"So are you in town long enough for dinner cause-" 

"Wait a minute!" Marjan yelled, and Eddie winced, shooting Buck an apology with his eyes. "You told me you were single. You said and I quote 'doing the whole single dad thing'." 

Judd’s brow furrowed at that, and Hen shot him a look. The one that said _idiot._

"And Buck was definitely flirting with me. Like-" 

"I told you boys this whole thing was going to come back to bite you in the ass someday." Hen warned, before laying down and Eddie shrugged. 

"We uh, weren't sure how accepting Texas was going to be. So we agreed to keep it quiet while we were down here." He said, and TK was still eyeing him. 

"But-" He started, and Buck frowned. 

"Okay listen I'm sorry for flirting with you. But you were definitely flirting back. This is sort of just our thing. I flirt, he flirts. We go home to each other at the end of the night. It works for us. I don’t know what hangups you have about it considering your boyfriend, but that’s that. I was never going to cheat on my fiancé, and had I known you were taken man I never would have hit on you in the first place." TK nodded slowly, he looked like he wanted to say more but couldn't. Eddie knew he felt called out for the flirting back. 

"But yes. Firmly in a relationship, we're getting married next summer." Eddie confirmed. 

With all that said, Buck fully relaxed, moving and dropping himself into Eddie’s lap. "So how did you know?" He asked Judd who just looked at them both with a small smile. 

"Because you're all the way down in Texas he looks at you like he's coming home. No matter where in the room you are, and that's love kid." His voice was soft, like he was speaking from experience, and Buck nodded. He turned pressing a soft kiss into Eddie's hairline. 

"I know we're supposed to leave as soon as things clear up, but we might be able to squeeze in breakfast with you and your wife. How long have you two been together? You said she's a first responder too?" He asked, getting into it. And Eddie smiled, because yeah. Buck made friends easy, and they could play all the games they wanted. But at the end of the day, he was holding the man he loved in his arms, and the world knew he was his.

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo thoughts, comments, questions?? I hope you loved it! So so much love to you all <333


End file.
